Box Score
MOUNT OLIVE, NC â€" David Fletcher got the Moccasin offense going after an early hiccup on defense put them in a hole, and Ashley Holmes and Zach Hofstetter were later involved in two goals apiece as Florida Southern opened the season with a 4-3 win over Mount Olive.
The Trojans took advantage of a free kick in the seventh minute to score the first goal of the game on a header by Vieux Sarr. The Moccasins, however, scored four unanswered goals after that, with Fletcher, Viktor Bakkioui and Holmes all scoring theirs before halftime. Jovaughn Howard added their final tally in the 57th minute before the Mocs had to withstand a late Mount Olive rally.
Fletcher scored the equalizer at the 19-minute mark, hitting a screamer off the crossbar for the first goal of his career. The senior midfielder rarely shoots, taking just 23 shots over the last three years combined. This one ignited the Mocs, as Bakkioui put them ahead less than four minutes later when he knocked in a rebounded shot by Holmes that was initially saved by Mount Olive goalkeeper Kyle Lavender.
Holmes would get his goal eventually, scoring on a corner kick from Hofstetter in the 34th minute to put the Mocs up 3-1.
Howard’s goal in the second half capped a break-away started by J.D. Ruiz, with Hofstetter providing the scoring pass on that one as well.
Momentum shifted in favor of the Trojans after that, as Frank Boateng scored in the 68th minute, and Sarr added his second goal of the night in the 80th. They had a chance to tie the game in the 82nd minute, but Moccasin goalkeeper Charlie Craig saved a shot by Vince Fluellen. It was the last taken by either team, as Florida Southern held on to beat Mount Olive in its season opener for the second year in a row.
Craig finished with four saves in his first start, as the Mocs out-shot the Trojans 20-8. Lavender and Rob Gray combined for nine saves for Mount Olive.
Florida Southern will play its home opener next, hosting Savannah College of Art & Design on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
